Not yet a Master
by Shadow Griffin
Summary: Anakin knew what it felt like to be alone... and now, he realized, so did Ahsoka. Obi-Wan feels it's time for him to step in and fix some holes in this relationship.


Oh the triumphant return! I LIVE! …no seriously. Same spiel as always…

**Disclaimer**: Me no own, you no sue, 'kay? Love you!

**Summary**: Anakin knew how it felt to be alone…and now, he realized, so did Ahsoka. Obi-Wan has a few things to fix in this relationship.

Special thanks to Mini-Marianne for the help!

Enjoy, ladies and gents!

The air aboard the _Resolute _was as stale and bitter as it had always been. Though Anakin could surely live with the cold feeling of separation between all of the members of the crew, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi just found it downright disturbing. On his own cruisers, the clones were indeed intune with one another and took everyone's health as a major priority. On the _Resolute_, it seemed the opposite. Though the master could partly understand the cold distance between General and soldiers, he couldn't FATHOM the freezing distance between master and padawan.

"_Forbidden to us, attachments are."_

Master Yoda's voice echoed in the back of his skull just as it had all of those years during Anakin's training. Yet, the Master had also said:

"_Like father and child are master and padawan. Always two, master and apprentice. Together, they should stand. Remember this, you should."_

To most, this was very confusing. Jedi are not supposed to have attachments…yet they are supposed to be close to one another. Experience paid the toll for many Jedi. After their own apprenticeships and trials, they would finally understand that the law forbade attachment- not love. Master and padawan were never truly apart from one another, they were permanently joined. Obi-Wan himself could swear that during every mission he heard Qui-Gon's voice in his ear, telling him that he made the correct decisions and that he was proud of the Jedi he had become. Anakin had never learned this lesson very well. Master Yoda had decided to tackle this problem head-on by giving him his own padawan learner… he never thought that it could backfire.

Obi-Wan held back a shiver. This was not, by far, the first time that the master had come aboard the _Resolute_ to speak with Anakin and Ahsoka, but it still felt as cold and as distant as ever. He didn't let his discomfort show as he and his clone commander, Cody, stepped off of the small cruiser that they had used to gain access to the Jedi battle ship.

Captain Rex was waiting at the foot of the metal ramp for them and quickly saluted as they descended from the little ship. Commander Cody mirrored the salute, saying a simple "at ease" to the other clone. Rex obeyed, lowering his hand and turning to Obi-Wan who stood in the familiar lax position with his arms crossed.

"Welcome aboard the _Resolute_, sir," he said confidently, his posture perfectly straight.

"Thank you. Now, where is that slow-witted General of yours?" the master returned.

"He offers his apologies for not meeting you here, sir. He said that he had some urgent data to look over and is now in his quarters."

Obi-Wan raised a curious ginger brow with great delicacy, although nodding that he understood.

"Alright. If you two will excuse me, I would like to look around."

Two quick "yes sir"s answered him and the two clones stepped together in the opposite direction across the almost empty hangar, both quickly getting into a lax conversation and laughing a bit. Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm the anger that was trying to well up in his chest. Had he taught Anakin nothing? Of all the things that he should have remembered, it was that you were always present to greet any newcomers.

Anakin Skywalker tested his master's patience.

Anakin Skywalker tested his master's patience _far too much_.

…And therein started the most difficult battle that Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever fought in.

Obi-wan raised a gloved right hand up to his face to grip his nose between his thumb and forefinger, trying desperately to quell the impending headache that he KNEW was going to pop up.

Despite what many of the thick-headed, honor bound Jedi on the council may have thought, older Jedi masters COULD still tell a major problem in bloom when they saw one…or knew someone that was related to the problem.

At the moment, his perfectly honed ability to grasp the blatantly and painfully obvious was working perfectly and he was able to decide one thing: Anakin had almost fully shut his padawan out of his everyday life. Taking this fact and adding it to the fact that Ahsoka was, by nature, a pack runner made the situation worse. True, Anakin held Ahsoka close to his heart and cared about her well being, but outside of battle situations, you could tell that Ahsoka was the odd-man-out. The hairs on the back of his neck stood rigid suddenly, and his eyes snapped open with an almost-audible 'pop'.

The Force rippled with sudden anxiety, pulling on his mind anxiously like a child did to its mother for attention. The master quickly put his arms at his side and walked in the direction that the Force decided to lead him in. The shimmers got stronger as he walked down the halls of the _Resolute_ and down toward the empty fighter bay- this part of the ship had been long-since been abandoned after the fighting on Ryloth. All of the fighters were stored in the main hangar, no longer in the small, off-corner storage room that was completely cut-off from the rest of the ship. He stopped outside of the cold, steel doors that led into the small storage area, straining his ears to listen.

There was a constant 'crack', 'shuffle', 'crack' sequence that oriented from the area. Another crack sounded, the sharp sound reminding him of the last time that he and Anakin had played thunball together.

'CRACK'

'Shuffle'

'CRACK'

These weren't the sounds that pushed the Jedi Master to enter the room- it was the underlying soft waves that keyed Obi-Wan off. He heard the soft, broken intakes of breath again and again under the cracking noise and he finally pushed himself to realize the truth- it was Ahsoka. With no more hesitance, the Jedi pushed against the cold metal handle and granted himself access to the now-occupied chamber. His assumptions had been correct.

Young Ahsoka Tano was holding the thick metal bat in her left hand, knuckles gripping it tightly on the black tape that surrounded its handle. With her right, she stooped down to grab one of the many self-made thunballs and tossed it in the air. She quickly straightened her posture and gripped the bat with both hands, smashing the metal to the falling sphere with a loud 'CRACK' and sending it across the room. The ball hit the wall and rolled back to her feet.

"Hello Master Obi-Wan," she whispered, her back still to him as she reached for the ball. It was obvious to anyone who knew the basics of Togruta that she had heard him coming on foot rather than sensing him through the Force.

Obi-Wan noticed that the head-tails that were once bright white and blue where a slightly darker shade, almost grey- this meant mental strain and lack of sleep, but decided to not yet comment.

"Hello, Ahsoka," he replied, raising a ginger eyebrow as she sent that ball flying across the room to the wall.

They were quiet now. The only sound resonating in the metal room was the loud cracks from her force hitting on the balls. Obi-Wan could feel her twisted emotions- sorrow, rejection, embarrassment… but he couldn't understand them. Under the sound of the cracking were the breaking breaths that he had heard earlier. He knew for sure now. She was crying.

He took a couple bold steps forward, stopping a good eight or so feet away to keep her from feeling cornered, his eyes locked between her softly quivering shoulder blades.

"I believe that it more fun to have multiple players in this game, am I right?" he inquired in his normal tone, crossing his arms across his chest.

He received no verbal reply- only the familiar up and down motion of her shoulders that he knew to be a shrug. He tried again.

"What of your master, little one?"

Once again, he received a shrug. The tremors in her shoulders got worse and he could now plainly hear the barely-contained cries that were in her throat. She reached down to grab yet another ball, sending this one careening with the loudest sound yet into the wall, watching it bend the thin metal. Her dust-brown arms were starting to shake with the effort of the continues motion, but Ahsoka simply grabbed another ball and hit it across the room as well. Finally, she lowered her arms to her sides, her left still gripping the bat and half-turned to Obi-Wan. Even in this new position, the master could only view one of the glistening, watery blue eyes that threatened to spill its load down the youngling's cheek.

"Master Skywalker doesn't stay around here."

Obi-Wan's mind halted to a complete and dead stop as she turned and starting hitting the balls again.

'_Master Skywalker?!'_ his own mind screamed in disbelief, '_since when are there needs for such formalities between master and padawan?!'_

He tried to form the words to demand this, but he clicked his jaw shut again. If he knew one thing about Ahsoka Tano, it was that if you demanded answers- you just lost the battle. If you coaxed it out of her with questions, you would get what you were looking for.

"Why is that?"

Once again, he received only a shrug. He noticed as she fought for control against the emotions rising in her chest. Obi-Wan had to force himself to not go to her and embrace her- that was far from what she needed right now- and far from what he needed to know.

"Ahsoka, would you please turn around?"

He noticed the immediate reaction. Her shoulders tensed into a frozen arc and her head ducked slightly. Just when he thought he would have to repeat himself, she slowly turned around to face the master- yet her eyes wouldn't meet his. He took the last few steps forward that he needed to close the distance between them and gave another order to her.

"Ahsoka, please put the bat on the ground."

He made sure to say her name with a firm tone to be certain that she understood that she was the one who was being addressed. She obeyed, stooping down to place the metal piece on the ground before straightening out her back, eyes and chin still aim sternly at the ground. The master watched her for a moment. He tried to send soft waves of comfort to her through the Force. She obviously felt it and reacted to it- her muscles relaxed slightly in her shoulders, but she still refused to meet his eye.

Obi-Wan frowned. He slowly knelt in front of her, watching with a worried eye how she turned her head so that he still couldn't see her face. His right hand came forward to grasp her chin gently and pull her face to face with him.

"Ahsoka, will you look at me?"

She gave a heavy wince but complied, slowly bringing the watery orbs to meet his own warm ones. He sent her stronger waves of comfort. He spoke in a low voice, his fingers gripping her chin as she tried to look away again.

"Ahsoka, please tell me what's going on."

She started to pull her eyes away to strain the in the opposite direction. Obi-Wan gave a soft "Ah!",almost like he was chiding a puppy, to her and pulled her chin toward him a little more. The reaction earned him the reward of the padawan's eyes once more.

"Are you mad at me too, Master Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan felt himself gawk.

'_WHAT?!'_

"No, no," he replied, searching her eyes, "Ahsoka, why would I be angry at you?"

She hesitated.

"Jedi shouldn't feel too much emotion. I should be releasing it into the Force…but…I-I-"she hesitated again and tried to turn her gaze away and was thwarted by the master once again, "I'm sorry that I failed on Ryloth… I'm sorry that…I-"

She cut off then, swallowing the thick lump that had mysteriously appeared in her throat. Her eyes searched around the room, to the floor, to the hand on her face- anywhere but the Jedi Master's frowning, concerned face. She tried to take the deep, calming breaths that would lower her emotions back down to a more manageable level, but the air broke and she unconsciously made the distressed sound in the back of her throat.

"It is alright to cry, Ahsoka. Trust me- just let it go. Let it go," he spoke warmly, giving her appraisal when she finally let out her first cry.

The birthmarks on her face stood out even more prominent bathed in thick tears. Despite the Jedi code in the back of his mind, Obi-Wan brought his hand from her chin to the back of her head, pulling her into his arms, feeling her burn in shame as she submitted into his embrace.

"Let yourself cry, Ahsoka. There is no shame in it- it can only bring good."

She still suppressed her cries as he pulled his hand under her head-tails to the back of her neck, finding the bundle of nerves that he knew from experience that all Togruta have. He let two fingers message it, but when the Togruta let out a soft yelp, he quickly apologized and massaged a little lighter. Ahsoka made a short, quick rumble in the back of her throat that made her body jump at the intensity of the sudden sound. At first, the Jedi Master believed it to be a sign of anger- yet when her tears increased and she gave a strangled cry, he realized that it was actually the equivalent of a human sob. His fingers worked diligently as he kept her wrapped in his left arm, sending warm waves of the Force to the youngling that had thrown her arms around his neck.

Ahsoka was headstrong- to cause a breakdown meant that this had been happening for a while. He let out a soft smile when he felt her relax in his arms, the warm tears starting to relinquish their bathing of his shoulder. When they were nothing but a small trickle and Ahsoka had begun to take deeper breaths, he pulled back, hand still on her neck and looked her in the eye.

"Feel better?"

She gave a shaky nod along with a watery smile and he returned it wholeheartedly. He rose to his full height and removed his hand from her neck. He gave a small push on her back and aimed her for the door. Not quite understanding what he was telling her, she looked back at him and tilted her head a little in the silent question.

"Go on to your quarters and get some sleep. I believe you need it."

He heard a soft mumbling and raised an eyebrow, straining himself to understand.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka, what did you say?"

She shifted nervously, her habit of refusing to look him in the eye taking course again. He knew what she was going to say before she said it- she was always nervous when she couldn't comply with a request or an order.

"…I can't, master. The Force can't help me control dreams anymore…"

He gave her a pat on the back reassuringly.

"That's alright. If you want, I can help you find good dreams, young one."

She gave a hesitant nod.

"Alright. Go to your quarters and wait for me there. I just have to clean this up and take care of something."

He gave her another push and she stumbled forward a little. Turning around to give him a respectful bow, the young padawan darted out of the room and down the hallway, her footsteps resonating loudly as she went.

Obi-Wan looked to the bat lying on the ground and trailed his eyes across the room. How long had Ahsoka been here? She was always defiant and good at hiding her feelings, but to have her breakdown like that meant only one thing.

It was time for a talk with Anakin Skywalker.

His job of cleaning up the little mess in the room was easy and quick- on no time he was heading down the hallways of the _Resolute_ once again. Only this time, it was to his own padawan- one that was in DEEP trouble. A couple of troopers passed and gave him quick hellos which he returned with a slight tip of his head. In the matter of two minutes, the master found himself standing outside of Anakin's quarters.

He pressed the button at the side of the door, hearing the familiar chime that told its owner that someone requested entry. More than likely, Anakin had left the door unlocked- but he didn't have the mind to barge into any room he wanted without permission.

"Come in!" the familiar called out to him.

The door gave a soft swish and moved out of his line of vision, granting him access to the warm-aired room that Anakin owned. The bed off to the corner was covered in a furry brown blanket that was standard for Jedi Generals- besides that, the room was its standard cold, hard metal with a single table and lamp in its center.

At the table sat Anakin Skywalker, Jedi commander of the _Resolute _and master to padawan Ahsoka Tano. There sat Anakin Skywalker- the Jedi who was about to get a good talking-to.

"Oh, Master Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed as his master entered. The knight stood in respect. "I didn't know it was you, master! It's good to see you!"

"I can say the same, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied with a smile before frowning slightly. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"I've been going over information about Ryloth. I have spoken with the council and everything is set."

"Ah, yes, Ryloth. Tell me, Anakin, when was the last time you checked on your padawan?"

Anakin froze.

"Ahsoka?"

"No Anakin, me. Yes _Ahsoka_."

The knight thought for a moment and then shrugged. His stance didn't change from its lax position- he had obviously not felt the waves in the Force.

"I'm guessing it's been almost a day, master. Snips can take care of herself."

Obi-Wan heaved a sigh, crossing the chamber to the table that Anakin had been working at only moments previous and picked up one of the datapads. As he turned it over in his hands, he decided to pose the question.

"After Ahsoka's mishap over Ryloth, did you confront her on it?"

"Well, I gave her the mission afterward and she saw it through."

Obi-wan placed the datapad back on the desk and turned to the knight, crossing his armored arms over his chest again.

"I meant after that, Anakin. Did you confront her on the loss?"

Now, Anakin looked downright confused.

"No, master. Ahsoka seemed fine and asked for some time by herself."

"And you left her alone, didn't you, Anakin?"

Anakin shifted his weight nervously.

"Is there a problem, master?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. How could Anakin be so detached? Did he really not realize how bad it had gotten?

"Anakin," he let out with a sigh, opening his eyes to look at his old padawan, "Ahsoka may be old enough to take care of herself, but she is still a _child_- a _Togruta_ child. She is a pack-runner; she is never supposed to deal with problems 'by herself'. Did it never occur to you that she was hiding from you?"

"Hiding from me?" Anakin repeated, slightly angry, "My padawan has no reason to hide from me!"

"That is another excuse that you have let yourself believe," the master replied, giving him one of his famous 'looks'. "Ahsoka is afraid to feel your disappointment, Anakin. She feels hurt that you would prefer spending time looking at datapads than staying around her."

"Master, you're wrong!" Anakin exclaimed, anger now present in his voice.

"Am I?"

Obi-Wan crossed the room in six swift strides, pausing in the doorway as the door swooped open. He looked back to Anakin and gave one final question.

"Do you know what your padawan was doing about seven minutes ago?"

At Anakin's shake of the head, he replied:

"She was crying, Anakin. She was crying."

With that, the master stepped out of the room and down the hall toward Ahsoka's room with even strides, arms lax at his side. It always hurt him to chide his student that way, but he knew that Ahsoka had been forced to suffer for no reason- he couldn't allow that.

He found her room easily due to her Force signature. He fought down the disturbing fact that pressed itself into his mind- HE had a stronger bond to the child than her own master did!

Obi-Wan found Ahsoka right where he thought she'd be- curled up in the deep brown blankets on her bed with her eyes closed tightly. He knew she wasn't asleep. Her eyes opened to look at him as he entered and quietly crossed the room to her bed, sitting on it lightly and forcing the mattress to dip under his weight. She shifted slightly back to give him more room.

"Ready for sleep, little one?"

She only nodded, letting him place a gloved hand on the white crown her head. The sleep-suggestion made her eyes even heavier than they already were and she fought against the warmth that was sleep.

"Ahsoka," the man whispered warmly, "time for sleep."

The suggestion became a little stronger- now enough to gently pull her under. She let out a soft sigh, fully relaxing under the comfort of the Force.

Meanwhile, Anakin paced about in his room, little pangs of anger surging through him. The previous conversation with Obi-Wan repeated itself over and over in his mind. And once the anger began to die away, another feeling took its place. Was it guilt?

The pacing ceased briefly, and he turned towards the door. Perhaps... he should go see Ahsoka. Then what? Apologize? What after that? The pacing slowly resumed as he turned over his options.

He stopped his motions again for a moment, letting out a long breath.

"What have I done?"

There was no verbal answer. He knew.

His padawan had been forced to follow his lead on these dangerous missions with no sense of life or death…she had grown up in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant- she had never been forced to see death or had to fear for her life in the fashion that she had to do daily now. How had he eased the transition? He had ignored her when she had needed him the most.

He knew how it felt to be ignored…and he felt his stomach do a flip as he realized that now she did, too.

He found now that his feet had unconsciously taken him to his padawan's chambers. He stood awkwardly outside the door when he sensed that his old master was in the room as well. Anakin took a deep, calming breath through his mouth and let it out slowly before crossing the threshold into his apprentice's quarters. Obi-Wan didn't spare him a glance from where he had arranged Ahsoka's body into a more comfortable laying position and was removing her headdress to prevent it from snagging on the pillows.

"Master…" Anakin started, but found that he had no voice. He suddenly felt as if he was a child again- and he didn't like it one bit.

"Anakin," his master took over, voice as soft and calm as always, "I know that you mean well by letting Ahsoka have her own range on the ship- but you do have to remember that Togruta learn from example."

When Anakin didn't reply, he finally looked at him.

"In their packs, the Togruta follow the lead and learn from their actions. They feel the emotions set off by others and hate to be alone."

He blinked when Anakin moved a little closer to kneel next to the bed, putting his hand on one of his padawan's.

"There is one thing that you have to remember about her. When she makes mistakes, don't always get angry. Yelling is no way to teach your padawan what is right- or to show that you care about her."

"How would you know, master?" Anakin asked, speaking for the first time.

"Because I had a padawan once."

Anakin met his gaze for a second before looking away again.

"And he tested my patience… so I yelled at him- probably far too much. It took a little while for me to realize, but I found that if I always reacted on anger and ignorance to his misdeeds… that would be all that he would come to know- and all that he would ever be able to express to others."

The Jedi knight didn't reply to this. He kept his eyes locked on Ahsoka's sleeping face, fighting back the anger that he felt toward himself. He accepted the headdress from Obi-Wan and reached over to place it on the nightstand next to the bed, lowering his eyes finally. Obi-Wan watched him for a moment before speaking softly.

"Ahsoka will be fine, Anakin. All she needs is a chance to get to know you, that's all. Try to keep in mind that the Force wasn't found in one day."

With that, he stood quietly and exited the room, leaving master and padawan together.

Anakin watched her sleep for a little while, noting how different she looked from a human child. The orange skin that she bore was even deeper orange than normal- and the birthmarks on her face seemed more brightly colored in her sleep. He moved his hand from hers to move it to the warm plain of her forehead, using his thumb to gently rub her temple. He sat there for a little while, watching her sleep quietly before standing, giving her arms a farewell stroke and then leaving the room quietly.

He spent the next two hours in his quarters, silently grateful for the lack of transmissions or emergency for the first time in what felt like weeks. Then, suddenly, he realized that it had been weeks- weeks since Ahsoka first came to him and announced that she had been assigned to him.

The previous pacing resumed, which kind of helped Anakin think. Going down memory lane also helped the time to pass... And before he even knew it, another hour had passed. Silently striding towards the door, he again found himself headed towards Ahsoka's room. Had she woken up yet? A quick glance showed she had not, so he silently retreated...

Another hour passed, and Anakin again returned, pausing at the door. Upon listening closely, he could just hear the rustling of the blankets and the familiar clicking sound that Ahsoka made when she was tired. Swallowing, he entered. There she was, having finally awoken from slumber, still lying on her side facing the door.

"Hiya, Snips," Anakin greeted from the doorway as she slowly blinked to clear her vision.

"Master?" she questioned, finding his figure in the door.

"Yeah, Ahsoka."

He crossed through the threshold, moving to sit on the edge of her bed as she held back a yawn.

"Sleep well, Snips?"

He chuckled at her hesitant nod. He watched her give a sleepy smile and sit up to look at him at eye level. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke, his voice soft and gentle, trying not to make her upset.

"Ahsoka…" he hesitated again, "I talked with master Obi-Wan."

She froze, the events from earlier crashing into her like an ocean wave against a shore. She quickly looked down to her hands that were resting on her lap. She started when her master reached across her line of vision to grab her left shoulder, his other hand grabbing the right. She slowly raised her eyes, not quite meeting his- she didn't want to see the disappointment in them.

"Ahsoka, look at me."

She did. He tried to soften his gaze so that it would destroy the fear that her eyes held.

"Ahsoka, I want you to listen to me very closely, alright?"

He waited until she gave a shaky nod to speak again.

"I'm sorry, Snips."

She gave him an odd look. Why was he sorry? She was the one that wasn't good enough to be a padawan…

"Snips, listen to me. I know I haven't been much of a master. All I've ever really done for you is given you orders on the battle field… I never meant to hurt you, little one."

At the endearment, she slowly relaxed under his hold, feeling the waves of the Force that he sent her.

"I believed that by distancing us that you would be in less danger… I'm sorry."

"Master, I…" she spoke quietly for the first time, hesitation clear in the words, "I didn't mean to breakdown like that in front of master Obi-Wan-"

She was suddenly jerked forward and let out a gasp in surprise when her master pulled her into a full-fledged hug, squeezing her with every bit of might he had.

"Oh, Ahsoka," he whispered in her ear, his hand reaching to slowly stroke her back, "did you think you were in trouble for _crying_? Oh, Ahsoka, no!"

She hesitated, but finally allowed her tension to fade away, leaning into the warmth that was her master. He shifted to rest his cheek on her head for a moment, subconsciously berating himself and trying to make the waves of the Force he was emitting even stronger. When he loosened his arms enough to look her in the eyes again, he lowered his head to meet her eye, bringing the volume of his voice as low as possible- knowing that she could still hear it.

"Ahsoka, I'm not angry at you at all. I feel angry at myself- not you, and especially not for crying, Snips! I felt angry because Master Obi-Wan was there for you and I wasn't- I was mad that I abandoned you so much… Ahsoka, I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me- I want you to trust me. Do you understand little one?"

She nodded quietly, leaning back against him and trying to absorb the warmth that he offered her. For the first time, he made no complaint- he simply wrapped her up in her blanket and held her for a while, letting her feel the strong thrums of his heart and the warm waves of the Force that he wrapped her in.

Back in his quarters down the hall, Obi-Wan let out a smile as he felt Anakin's Force waves. Yes…everything would be alright now. Everything would be alright.


End file.
